just days before secretary of state hillary clinton was set to return to work, she suddenly is hospitalized for a blood clot stemming from that concussion she sustained recently. >>> and in an nbc news exclusive, president obama lays out his second-term priorities, and guns didn't make the list. >>> plus, is there new hope for chuck hagel? the president defends his possible defense secretary pick. >>> good morning from washington. it's the last day of the year, december 31st, 2012, and this is "the daily rundown." i'm chris cillizza in for chuck todd. with sweeping tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect at midnight, even lawmakers are now publicly pessimistic about the ability of congress to, well, get anything done. at best, democrats and republicans will patch together a limited, short-term deal to avoid the most immediate economic impacts of the fiscal cliff. with 15 hours to go and counting, members of congress are disgusted and embarrassed. >> when the future of the country, you know, rests in the hands of 70 and 80-year-olds who have jet lag, it's probably